Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, June 6, 1995

That was more than enough to erase the 28-point decline on Friday, when investors paused to ponder unpleasant unemployment data.

Stocks got a boost after two of the most influential investment firms, Merrill Lynch and Salomon Brothers, changed their forecasts and suggested that the Federal Reserve Bank might cut interest rates as early as next month. Lower interest rates could spur economic growth later in the year, which would propel corporate profits.

The markets also got a boost from International Business Machines' bid for Lotus Development at almost double the software company's market price.

The broader market indexes also set new records. On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues led decliners by a better than two-to-one margin with more than 340 million shares trading hands.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 3.09 to 535.60. The Nasdaq composite index rose 9.88 to 882.85, its third-largest point gain ever, led by Lotus, which nearly doubled to 61 7/32.

In the bond market, the price of the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond was up 5/32, or $1.56 per $1,000 bond, as the yield fell to 6.51 percent from 6.53 percent on Friday. By contrast, the bond yielded 7.88 percent at the end of last year.

Boeing surged 2 5/8 to a record 61 5/8 after it won a $4 billion order from Saudia Airlines.